Ed Hickox had a rough day behind the plate in St. Louis, calling a wide outside zone that frustrated both dugouts. Pitchers picked up on it early, working that outside corner and getting called strikes that were clearly off the plate. Things boiled over in the fifth with the Yankees down two, bases loaded, no outs. Marwin Gonzalez battled back to a full count, then struck out looking on a pitch way outside. He was furious. Aaron Boone looked ready to explode but held it together. Then DJ LeMahieu stepped in and got the same treatment. After one bad call, he had to protect the outside and chased another pitch well off the plate. Chris Stratton and Yadier Molina worked it smart, knowing the zone was loose, and DJ went down swinging.
Aaron Judge came through next, crushing a curveball to tie the game and briefly defusing the tension. But it didn’t last long. Matt Carpenter got rung up again on an outside pitch, and Boone finally snapped. He got tossed after a classic Booney argument, complete with gum spit and marching out to show the ump how far outside the pitch was. Hickox stood his ground, visibly over it. Probably because it was sweltering and he’s pushing 60, asked to call 100 mph pitches with precision from behind layers of gear in brutal heat. The breakdown ended by pointing out the near-impossible expectations placed on older umps in a game that keeps getting faster.